A Second Chance
by Leola Llewellyn
Summary: Lily left James brokenhearted three years ago. When she shows up again in his life as a fellow professor at Hogwarts, will their love have a second chance? And how will the threat of Lord Voldemort's rise to power alter any chance of happiness together?
1. Chapter 1

"My, my, Miss Livingston, that is quite a lovely rat." The fourteen-year-old girl beamed at her professor's compliment, blushing scarlet and hoping he would not inspect the rodent's underside, where a painted chrysanthemum proved that it had been a dainty teacup moments before. "Thank you, Professor," she managed to mumble. It was a moment she would excitedly recount over dinner with her gleefully giggling friends.

The Professor smiled good-naturedly, and his boyish grin made it possible to mistake him for one of his students. He appeared ten years younger, with sparkling hazel eyes and affectionate dimples. This combined with his considerable stature and confident stride made Professor James H. Potter a favorite among the female students. He was the newest and youngest professor, having taught Transfiguration for only two years. His groundbreaking advancements in the field had qualified him for the position at the ripe age of twenty-four.

The bell rang, and the students began to assemble their books. "Right, homework," James began. "Read chapter six. And next time produce for me a rat without a porcelain handle. Good day!"

It was his final class of the day. As the last student exited the chamber, James heaved a sigh and stepped over to the twelfth story window to look out upon the grounds. It was a bright afternoon. The windowsill and the grass below were wet from a passing rain half an hour before, but the breeze was inviting despite the autumn chill, and the twilight promised to be beautiful. It was a good day for a flight, and James promised himself that he would take one after an hour's work.

That was before she entered the room. She had always known how to make a silent appearance, to startle the ever cool and collected James Potter. She had always known how to undo him. So when he turned and saw her, with her green eyes piercing and her red hair loose and long as ever, he forgot to breathe for a moment. As for Lily Evans, she simply smiled charmingly, as though it had been three days rather than three years since their last parting.

"Good afternoon, James," she said. Her voice was so warm and smooth. He had forgotten how much he missed it.

"What are you doing here, Miss Evans?" he asked, leaning nonchalantly against the windowsill. "Or is it Mrs. O'Neill by now?"

"Still Lily Evans," she answered happily. "I left Patrick a year ago."

"Wait a moment while I feign surprise," James said coldly. He watched as her smile faded. "I suppose you ran off with another older, smarter, and richer man with 'more plans for his life than broomsticks and butterbeers.'" Repeating her words, he could remember that awful moment three years ago, when she had showed up at his apartment with a bag full of his things and the news that she was leaving him for someone more motivated. A week later, she had appeared at the annual Ministry of Magic spring ball sporting Patrick O'Neill on her arm, Head of the Department for Magical Games and Sports.

"Why James Potter, are you quoting me after all this time?" Lily asked, inspecting her fingernails disaffectedly. "I must say I've forgotten most of the things you said so long ago."

"Good, because most of them weren't sincere."

Lily bit her lip. She looked at him with the same charming glance and determinedly calm expression, but he recognized this old sign of hers that she was hurt. It delighted him. He strode carelessly towards his desk and began rifling through a stack of papers. Without looking up, he asked, "What in Godric's name are you doing back here anyway?"

Lily instantly recovered. "I've been hired," she declared happily. "Potions professorship. I begin tomorrow morning."

"Oh yes, Dumbledore has been meaning to replace that warbling old warlock who retired last week," James said absentmindedly. He looked up and added, "Congratulations" with a certain disregard.

"Thank you." Lily replied. "I only came to say hello, as it's been such a long time. I thought maybe we could share a cup of tea as old friends. I've been quite intrigued by your work in Transfiguration theory."

"Mm, I see." James lowered himself into his chair, slumping casually and resting his elbow on the desk. His boyish grin had faded. "That would be delightful, were we old friends, Miss Evans. As I see it, you were never my friend. You were my mocker, my rival, and then my lover. Finally you left me for a rich Irish prick who turned around and left you." Satisfied, he put a hand to the back of his head, rumpling his hair like the cocky schoolboy he once was.

"James Potter, men do not leave me," Lily said, her face reddening and her eyes ablaze. In her usual calm tone, she explained, "I tired of Patrick, just like I tired of you."

"That's surprising, because he was married last week. Did you know?" James asked conversationally. He had kept track of that blarney git since the day he had stolen Lily away from him.

Lily stared for a moment. "I did," she said coldly. "I'll be seeing you then, Potter." She seemed to spit his name. "We need not carry on." With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, as swiftly and silently as she had entered.

James sunk down in his chair and covered his face with his hand. He felt a sick pleasure and an awful despair in being cruel to her. There was also, deep within him, a reawakened sense of elation in seeing her face again. It was the same feeling he had had every day for seven years, the same pure and wistful longing.


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius Black was sitting alone at the Three Broomsticks, swirling a stein of beer at the bar. He winked at the bartender, a rather curvaceous blonde with a dishrag slung around her hip. He ran a hand through his sleek black hair, smoothing it out after a flying motorcycle ride during which he had observed no speed limit regulations for magical aircraft. It was Thursday evening, and James had owled him only hours before to meet up in the pub, but Sirius prided himself on being a man without restrictions or obligations, and was always free at a moment's notice for an old mate and a drink.

James strolled in with his broomstick, hair similarly disheveled, and sat down next to Sirius. "How are you, mate?" he asked.

"Great. Just taking it easy. Remus moved in for a few weeks until he finds another job. It's just like old times. I mean, I've never been lonely at night, but the girls always leave in the morning," he said with a boyish smirk.

"You're such a womanizer, Padfoot," James said.

Sirius shrugged. "Only until I find the right woman. What'll you have to drink?"

"Scotch on the rocks."

Sirius signaled the bartender. "Scotch on the rocks for my friend here. Thanks beautiful."

The bartender slid the glass of amber liquid down the bar and James took a long swig. "Whoa, slow down there, mate. Since when do you drink the hard stuff?"

"Since Lily came back to Hogwarts to teach Potions," James said, wincing at the strength of the alcohol.

"Oh," Sirius said, putting his hand on his chin and thinking for a moment. "I suppose I'll have to buy your next one then. It's been…what, three years now?"

"Three years, two months, and twelve days."

Sirius stared at him. "Now that, my friend, is sad. How many girls have you screwed since?"

"Zero."

Sirius choked on his beer. "What? You mean to tell me you've been with no one since your first love, who dumped you right after you had given her diamonds from your family's collection?"

"To be fair, she did give them back," James pointed out, taking another swig of scotch.

"Who left you out on the curb right when you had decided to propose?"

"You're not making this easier, Sirius," James said. "The point is, just when I was beginning to believe that someday perhaps I would be able to forget about her, or at least not think of her ten times a day, she strolls back into my life as if she had never destroyed it."

"Hm," Sirius thought for a moment. "How does she seem? Is she single again?"

"Gorgeous as ever. And yes, she's single, but she wants nothing to do with me. She came to my door wanting to have tea as old friends, completely platonic, when all I wanted to do the moment I saw her was take her in my arms and snog her through supper, then carry her up to my room and make love like we'd gone back in time three years."

"You ought to give up on her, mate. I'm saying this for your own good. There's more where she came from. I know plenty of girls just as hot as she is, girls that would be ecstatic to sleep with you. Why don't you just give it a break?"

"You don't understand, Sirius. It's been three years, but even after all this time I love her as much as ever. I've never been more convinced that she's the only woman for me." He was silent for a moment, taking a thoughtful sip of scotch. Finally he said, "I'll never marry if I can't marry her."

"Marriage is overrated anyway," Sirius said with a shrug.

"—and I'll never be with a woman if it can't be her." James lowered his glass to the wooden bar with a thud. He put his hand on his forehead and gave a deep sigh.

Sirius looked at him intently for a moment. "You feel this strongly about Lily?"

"I always have," James said with a shrug. "I don't know how she does it to me." He swirled his glass for a moment, with a faraway look in his eyes. "It's not only that she's beautiful…she's confident and kind, and her presence is calming. I used to be so content just to come home to her each day… the way she would nestle her head against my neck, her hair smelling of rosemary and lavender…the way she took care of me every minute when I had dragon pox...the way she tenderly stroked the back of my neck with her fingertips. She has such a wonderful laugh, you know, and her smile is so warm and genuine. When she left, my flat was so lonely and lackluster…even the cat missed her. The most wonderful part of my life was absent…" he took a sip, sadly. "No, Sirius, I never could really live without her."

Sirius nodded silently. Then he said resolutely, "Then James, we're going to have to win her back for you." He drained his beer and signaled to the bartender. "You want another drink? We've got a lot of planning to do."


	3. Chapter 3

Lily was in her bedchamber, unpacking her suitcase. She had just returned from the Great Hall for supper, but she had only gone to make appearances. She had lost her appetite, and had not eaten more than three bites of anything.

She looked around the room, and resolved that she needed more light. "Lumos" she muttered, sending a brilliant white orb to float in the center of the room. Perhaps the light could cheer her somber state of mind. She began hanging her robes in the closet and arranging her other garments in the dresser. Usually she would hum or sing to herself while doing this sort of chore, but she had no heart for that now.

_If only things had been different_, she thought. It had been hard to see James again, which was why she had gotten it out of the way first. Lily was the sort of person who would never wait to do something unpleasant, letting it weigh on her mind. She was the opposite of James, the master procrastinator. And yet she had also been strangely excited to see him, thrilled at the thought of his boyish grin, enthralled by the gaze of those hazel eyes she knew so well. Whether it had been three years or thirty, she could never have forgotten him. She only realized now how much she had missed him. She looked at the large four poster bed in front of her and for a moment indulged in the wish that she could share it with him, curled up against his warm body as she once was, every night of that wonderful time they spent together.

Calliope, Lily's snowy owl, perched on the headboard of the bed, staring. "I know," Lily said. "I should never have left him."

_Instead I should have told him._ She thought back three years. It was a difficult and painful time in her life, and she had to lie back on the bed and close her eyes to re-envision it.

They had had such a fun and happy year sharing a flat together. Every weekend was a party. Friday nights and Saturday nights Remus, Sirius, Peter, Marlene, Alice and Frank, and other friends from work at Hogwarts came over for music, dancing, and every wizarding drinking game you could imagine. They would stay up all night then go to bed at dawn when everyone had left, making love and then sleeping until afternoon. There were early morning broomstick rides, watching the sunrise over the sea, traveling north to the Scottish mountains near where Hogwarts lay hidden. There was the stunning ruby necklace James had given her one candlelit dinner, a Peverell heirloom, all glistening with gold and diamonds upon her pale chest. There was carefree fun and youthful happiness.

But Lily's parents had died. James's parents were disappointed to see him dating a muggleborn. "It's just their generation," James would say. "They'll come to love you as much as I do. How could they not?" And as for James, Lily doubted that he would keep his research position at the Ministry of Magic for long. He spent more time partying and playing Quidditch than he ever did reading. He had his family's gold to inherit, but could Lily really respect a man who did not earn his own living? What if his inheritance ran out someday?

Then there was that awful shock, almost every unmarried woman's nightmare—the missed menstruation, the muggle pregnancy test that read positive. She was certain it was a fluke, a cruel trick of nature. As in every other aspect of her life, Lily had been so cautious in her lovemaking. She was the unfortunate statistic.

Oh, how she had cried. Every day there was the wonderful knowledge that James Potter's genes lived and grew in her body, that their love, despite all odds, had created life. Yet she was too young, alone in the world and in love with a man she could not yet trust to support a child. She could not tell him, for she knew he would be overjoyed and insist upon marrying her, and she knew she could never tell him no. So she took a day off of work to go to St. Mungo's hospital and had the fetus disposed of. Then she went back to James's flat and packed her things before he came home. She left that night, and never came back again.

_I should have told him._

Lily dried her eyes and scolded herself for bringing these things up on such an important night. She had her first lesson to plan and unpacking to do.

Still, how amazing it would be to think that she might be with James again. She had thought she would forget him. She had reasoned that other men would take his place, and she had sincerely tried with Patrick O'Neill. But there was no replacing the one and only James Potter, her first and, thus far, only love.

"It's impossible," she told Calliope, who fluttered over to rest on her shoulder. If there was one thing Lily knew about James, it was his pride. He would never take back a woman who had broken his heart. In his pain he had probably closed it off to her forever.

*~*~* Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews on chapters one and two. Please let me know what you think of chapter three!


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